Often used in process measurements, and automation, technology for measuring physical parameters, such as e.g. the mass flow, the density and/or the viscosity, of media flowing in pipelines are in-line measuring devices, which, by means of a measuring transducer of the vibration-type, through which medium flows, and a measuring, and operating, circuit connected thereto, effect, in the medium, reaction forces, such as e.g. Coriolis forces corresponding with mass flow, inertial forces corresponding with density of the medium and/or frictional forces corresponding with viscosity of the medium, etc., and produce derived from these a measurement signal representing the particular mass flow, viscosity and/or density of the medium. Such measuring transducers, especially measuring transducers embodied as Coriolis, mass flow meters or Coriolis, mass flow/ densimeters, are described at length and in detail e.g. in EP-A 1 001 254, EP-A 553 939, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,191, US-A 2002/0157479, US-A 2006/0150750, US-A 2007/0151368, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,370,002, 5,796,011, 6,308,580, 6,415,668, 6,711,958, 6,920,798, 7,134,347, 7,392,709, or WO-A 03/027616.
Each of the measuring transducers includes a transducer housing, of which an inlet-side, first housing end is formed at least partially by means of a first flow divider having exactly two, mutually spaced, circularly cylindrical, or tapered or conical, flow openings and an outlet-side, second housing end is formed at least partially by means of a second flow divider having exactly two, mutually spaced, flow openings. In the case of some of the measuring transducers illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,011, 7,350,421, or US-A 2007/0151368, the transducer housing comprises a rather thick walled, circularly cylindrical, tubular segment, which forms at least a middle segment of the transducer housing.
For guiding the medium, which flows, at least at times, the measuring transducers include, furthermore, in each case, exactly two measuring tubes of metal, especially steel or titanium, which are connected such that the medium can flow in parallel and which are positioned within the transducer housing and held oscillatably therein by means of the aforementioned flow dividers. A first of the, most often, equally constructed and, relative to one another, parallel extending, measuring tubes opens with an inlet-side, first, measuring tube end into a first flow opening of the inlet-side, first flow divider and with an outlet-side, second measuring tube end into a first flow opening of the outlet-side, second flow divider and a second of the measuring tubes opens with an inlet-side, first measuring tube end into a second flow opening of the first flow divider and with an outlet-side, second measuring tube end into a second flow opening of the second flow divider. Each of the flow dividers includes additionally, in each case, a flange with a sealing surface for fluid tight connecting of the measuring transducer to tubular segments of the pipeline serving, respectively, for supplying and removing medium to and from the measuring transducer.
For producing the above discussed reaction forces, the measuring tubes are caused to vibrate during operation, driven by an exciter mechanism serving for producing, or maintaining, as the case may be, mechanical oscillations, especially bending oscillations, of the measuring tubes in the so-called wanted mode. The oscillations in the wanted mode are, most often, especially in the case of application of the measuring transducer as a Coriolis, mass flow meter and/or densimeter, developed, at least partially, as lateral bending oscillations and, in the case of medium flowing through the measuring tubes, as a result of therein induced Coriolis forces, as additional, equal frequency oscillations superimposed in the so-called Coriolis mode. Accordingly, the—here most often electrodynamic—exciter mechanism is, in the case of straight measuring tubes, embodied in such a manner, that, therewith, the two measuring tubes are excitable in the wanted mode, at least partially, especially also predominantly, to opposite phase bending oscillations in a shared plane of oscillation, differentially—thus through introduction of exciter forces acting simultaneously along a shared line of action, however, in opposed direction.
For registering vibrations, especially bending oscillations, of the measuring tubes excited by means of the exciter mechanism and for producing oscillation measurement signals representing vibrations, the measuring transducers have, additionally, in each case, a, most often, likewise electrodynamic, sensor arrangement reacting to relative movements of the measuring tubes. Typically, the sensor arrangement is formed by means of an inlet-side, oscillation sensor registering oscillations of the measuring tubes differentially—thus only relative movements of the measuring tubes—as well as by means of an outlet-side, oscillation sensor registering oscillations of the measuring tubes differentially. Each of the oscillation sensors, which are usually constructed equally with one another, is formed by means of a permanent magnet held on the first measuring tube and a cylindrical coil held on the second measuring tube and permeated by the magnetic field of the permanent magnet.
In operation, the above described inner part of the measuring transducer, formed by means of the two measuring tubes as well as the thereon held exciter mechanism and sensor arrangement, is excited by means of the electromechanical exciter mechanism, at least at times, to execute mechanical oscillations in the wanted mode at least one dominating, wanted, oscillation frequency. Selected as oscillation frequency for the oscillations in the wanted mode is, in such case, usually a natural, instantaneous, resonance frequency of the inner part, which, in turn, depends essentially both on size, shape and material of the measuring tubes as well as also on an instantaneous density of the medium; in given cases, this wanted oscillation frequency can also be influenced significantly by an instantaneous viscosity of the medium. As a result of fluctuating density of the medium being measured and/or as a result of media change occurring during operation, the wanted oscillation frequency during operation of the measuring transducer varies naturally, at least within a calibrated and, thus, predetermined, wanted frequency band, which correspondingly has a predetermined lower, and a predetermined upper, limit frequency.
For defining a free, oscillatory length of the measuring tubes and, associated therewith, for adjusting the band of the wanted frequency, measuring transducers of the above described type include, additionally, most often, at least one inlet-side, coupling element, which is affixed to both measuring tubes and spaced from the two flow dividers, for forming inlet-side, oscillation nodes for opposite phase vibrations, especially bending oscillations, of both measuring tubes, as well as at least one outlet-side, coupling element, which is affixed to both measuring tubes and spaced both from the two flow dividers, as well as also from the inlet-side, coupling element, for forming outlet-side, oscillation nodes for opposite phase vibrations, especially bending oscillations, of the measuring tubes. In the case of straight measuring tubes, in such case, a minimum separation between inlet side and outlet side coupling elements (which, thus, belong to the inner part) corresponds to the free, oscillatory length of the measuring tubes. By means of the coupling elements, additionally also an oscillation quality factor of the inner part, as well as also the sensitivity of the measuring transducer, in total, can be influenced, in a manner such that, for a minimum required sensitivity of the measuring transducer, at least one minimum, free, oscillatory length is provided.
Development in the field of measuring transducers of the vibration-type has, in the meantime, reached a level, wherein modern measuring transducers of the described type can, for a broad application spectrum of flow measurement technology, satisfy highest requirements as regards precision and reproducibility of the measurement results. Thus, such measuring transducers are, in practice, applied for mass flow rates from some few l/h (gram per hour) up to some t/min (tons per minute), at pressures of up to 100 bar for liquids or even over 300 bar for gases. The accuracy of measurement achieved, in such case, lies usually at about 99.9% of the actual value, or above, or at a measuring error of about 0.1%, wherein a lower limit of the guaranteed measurement range can lie quite easily at about 1% of the measurement range end value. Due to the high bandwidth of their opportunities for use, industrial grade measuring transducers of vibration-type are available with nominal diameters (corresponding to the caliber of the pipeline to be connected to the measuring transducer, or to the caliber of the measuring transducer measured at the connecting flange), which lie in a nominal diameter range between 1 mm and 250 mm and at maximum nominal mass flow rate of 2200 t/h, in each case, for pressure losses of less than 1 bar. A caliber of the measuring tubes lies, in such case, for instance, in a range between 80 mm and 100 mm.
In spite of the fact that, in the meantime, measuring transducers for use in pipelines with very high mass flow rates and, associated therewith, very large calibers of far beyond 100 mm have become available, there is still considerable interest in obtaining measuring transducers of high precision and low pressure loss also for yet larger pipeline calibers, about 300 mm or more, or mass flow rates of 2500 t/h or more, for instance for applications in the petrochemical industry or in the field of transport and transfer of petroleum, natural gas, fuels, etc. This leads, in the case of correspondingly scaled enlarging of the already established measuring transducer designs known from the state of the art, especially from EP-A 1 001 254, EP-A 553 939, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,191, US-A 2002/0157479, US-A 2007/0151368, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,370,002, 5,796,011, 6,308,580, 6,711,958, 7,134,347, 7,350,421, or WO-A 03/027616, to the fact that the geometric dimensions would be exorbitantly large, especially the installed length corresponding to a distance between the sealing surfaces of both flanges and, in the case of curved measuring tubes, a maximum lateral extension of the measuring transducer, especially dimensions for the desired oscillation characteristics, the required load bearing ability, as well as the maximum allowed pressure loss. Along with that, also the empty mass of the measuring transducer increases unavoidably, with conventional measuring transducers of large nominal diameter already having an empty mass of about 400 kg. Investigations, which have been carried out for measuring transducers with two bent measuring tubes, constructed, for instance, according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,350,421 or 5,796,011, as regards their to-scale enlargement to still greater nominal diameters, have, for example, shown that, for nominal diameters of more than 300 mm, the empty mass of a to-scale enlarged, conventional measuring transducer would lie far above 500 kg, accompanied by an installed length of more than 3000 mm and a maximum lateral extension of more than 1000 mm. As a result, it can be said that industrial grade, mass producible, measuring transducers of conventional design and materials with nominal diameters far above 300 mm cannot be expected in the foreseeable future both for reasons of technical implementability, as well as also due to economic considerations.